There may be good news for a truck driver from Texas that accidentally traveled to Mexico. Well, he didn’t just go to Mexico. He went to Mexico with a trailer filled to the brim with ammunition, a deed that landed him in Mexican prison.
According to The El Paso Times, the trucker, who’s named Jabin Bogan, will need to pay a $1,500 fine before he can be released from prison. However, Aletha Smith, Bogan’s mother, has recently told the The Associated Press that the fine is much more than that number and they will have another week to put together the funds. Her attorney won’t let her reveal how much the fine actually is.
Judge Carlos Miguel Garcia Trevino indicated that along with the fine, Bogan will be required to serve three years of supervised release. At the moment, it’s unclear if this sentence can be served in the U.S.
Bogan is 27 years old and was arrested on April 17 when he crossed the border between West Texas and Juarez, Mexico and is currently in a maximum security prison located in Veracruz. Originally, he was going to be charged with ammunition trafficking, which means he faced 30 years in prison. However, contradictory testimony resulted in a reduction of the charge and sentence.
During a court hearing, agents indicated that Bogan was seen attempting to make a U-turn back into the United States when he was caught and they found ammunition on pallets within the his trailer. There’s even surveillance footage of him blocking traffic for 30 minutes while trying to turn and get his 18-wheel truck back into the States.
For what seems to have been an honest mistake, this has been quite an ordeal for Bogan. Hopefully, justice is served swiftly and he won’t have to stick around in a Mexican prison much longer. After what he’s been through, he likely wants to come home as quickly as possible.